Railroad signaling (Softcover ed.)

From the 1830s to today, the railroad industry has developed myriad complex mechanisms to help keep railway?s rights-of-ways safe, efficient, and relatively accident-free, from telegraph, semaphore blades, sending messages ?on the run? to trains with a long staff or hoop, to today?s power operating points, and Automatic Train Stop (ATS) systems.

In this paperback re-release of the successful 2003 title, the otherwise-arcane world of railroad signalling is explained in concise language and brought to life with nearly 200 fantastic photographs that depict signalling history and all aspects of modern operations.

Author and photographer Brian Solomon brings his wealth of knowledge and photographic talent to a subject that has not often been tackled in book form, yet is integral to the smooth, safe, efficient running of railways.

Showing the complex and involved history of rail signalling in North America, and highlighting both differences and similarities between UK and US operating methods ? a single semaphore blade is used in the US for ?Medium Speed? regardless of the number of routes involved, for example ? and the evolution of the Standard Code of Operating Rules from the myriad rules and regulations created by the numerous railways criss-crossing this vast country, this is a journey through rail safety and communication to appeal to any rail enthusiast.